Many thanks sent out to tigress_al for this tea!
I was bummed out that right after I moved, this tea was up for tea of the month at DAVIDsTea – if I had waited a few days to move I would of been able to buy a sample. Then when I went to do a DAVIDsTea order months later and opted to get Earl of Lemon instead (since they were both expensive teas). So Buddha’s Blend has been on my wishlist for awhile to try as I’m a sucker for jasmine/floral teas.
DRY: Ultra tangy peach smell! WOW Something about jasmine + flowers that makes that peachy smell.
STEEPED: Slight peachy smell. Steeps up some crazy huge leaves and flowers that are like 3-4" long!
TASTE: Strong peachy taste. A bit of unusual bitterness that I’m guessing is SUPER FLORAL BOUQUET OVERLOAD. A slight hint of sweetness and with a jasmine aftertaste.
WHO`D LOVE THIS TEA: Someone who loves floral teas.
COMMENTS: This is the most floral tea I’ve tasted so far.
I actually tried this tea in my travel tea glass first and actually got to it an hour later with the leaves still in and it was CRAZY bitter and flowery that I couldn`t finish it.
With that said, for this tea you need to take the time and correctly steep it – I did a quick 3 minute steep with a slightly lower temperature just to be safe (79c) and it was loads better, but still a bitterness present. Maybe it might be worth going as low as 73C/165F?
I find this tea slightly similar to “Three Wishes” but Three Wishes is much more bitter (and finicky) since it has black tea. One of my favorite teas, Lovers Cup by Silverleaf is similar to Buddha’s blend, but not as strong floral or bitter.
But overall, that peachy taste is very good and the floral is nice. However it does step into “Too much floral” zone for me (that I didn’t know existed). This be a great tea to serve at a tea party and decorate with lots of flowers.
Preparation
Comments
I love the format you review your teas! By the way, did you know there’s going to be a davidstea location in San Francisco? I really thought the mystery store was going to be way more north.
Yeah, I found out a few weeks back – I wish there was one in SoCal, but if I ever make it up to San Fran I will be checking it out.
I also thought it was really similar to Three Wishes! Glad I’m not crazy!
I love the format you review your teas! By the way, did you know there’s going to be a davidstea location in San Francisco? I really thought the mystery store was going to be way more north.
Yeah, I found out a few weeks back – I wish there was one in SoCal, but if I ever make it up to San Fran I will be checking it out.
this a 45 second steep and then icing it. heaven.